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I Advice - Innovation - The Bright Light in the Night Sky
What lies in store for the IT Contractor? I have seen the whole lifecycle at least three times, so let me tell you what to expect. To be forewarned is to be forearmed, so you might want to remember where you are in the cycle and what lies ahead.We might as well start when the economy is in boom conditions.1. IT Contractors are at premium as companies grab as many as they can get.2. IT Contractor rates rise rapidly.3. IT Contractors think their time has come and that the gravy train will go on forever. They think that just a few years of this and their pile will be made and they can then get out and live the high life. To bring this date sooner they also invest their excess money in the booming stock market.4. A ton of permanent IT workers who would never have risked becoming a contractor before feel that the risk has been diminished and become contractors.5. This means that there are heaps more permanent positions which will be filled temporarily by contractors.6. Employers and the consultancies start to lobby the Government about a skills shortage.7. Loads of
5. Laggards
16% of the population. Traditional people caring for the "old ways" are critical toward new ideas and will only accept innovation once it has become mainstream. Laggards are not interested in change and will accept the innovations only when they become the only option. They are more focused on the fear of what might happen be accepting the change than in the potential benefits.
Organizations with a Laggard in a leadership role will be struggling to remain competitive and customer orders will be in decline. In some cases, the leader may just want to ride out what he has until he can retire. The workforce under a leader of this category will be older and of like mind.
All Aboard
Let's say you love these new innovations you are finding and see great opportunity if only your customers were as into i
As search engine marketers specializing in the industrial marketplace, it’s neccessary to stay sharp on industry related topics and terms. Admittedly though, as situations present, we’ll supplement our knowledge with credible information sources online. After all, we’re not engineers.A recent ‘research’ project brought to light an area of opportunity - for both industrial websites as well as online information sources, where indeed there is a startling lack of engineering related information available. It’s a good thing, though. Where there is lack, there is…opportunity!One highly regarded and widely accepted general information source is wikipedia.com, a free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. Any topic can be introduced and expanded upon; which ofcourse includes topics related to… let’s say… optical enginnering, metal working, etc. You get the idea. However, there is defintely room for growth among these kind of topics in their database.This gap in information presents a multi faceted opportunity for engineers to support their brand and online marketing initiatives. The advantage that
As Wikipedia brought Encyclopedia Britannica to its knees, as the iPod makes portable CD players second class citizens, so goes the road construction lighting industry.
Powershift
The Powermoon Helimax completely shifts the thinking on lighting for the construction industry. Its design is unique, memorable and outperforms typical light tower flood lighting in many ways. The Powermoon is a helium-filled translucent balloon containing four lamps with four mirrors giving off 360° illumination without glare and provides 5 times as much light for the same power consumption. It's lightweight and portable (can fit in the back of a car), can be quickly inflated and can be used up to 150 feet off the ground. It is a German innovation that has yet to reach the US market in critical mass. Why would something with such performance improvements not be completely taking over the industry here?
Do you see the light?
Many people reading this article will say I've never seen this in the United States, I like my normal light stands or this is some fad that will never catch on. The resistance to change is normal as the majority of people shy away from the unique, the different and the unknown -- until it becomes common place. Sometimes, that can be too late.
As Everett Rogers outlined with his bell curve of innovation adoption there are five categories of adoption. As a business leader you set the tone of where you want your company to be in the innovation curve. If you are a traditionalist and resist the new ideas your staff will mirror that approach or become frustrated with such resistance to change and may move on. If you are at the front end of innovation adoption, you set the tone, you are a cutting edge organization and will attract employees who desire to work under those conditions and thereby will work best with customers who want to own the latest and greatest.
Resistance to change is within all of us to some degree. It can come from your sales staff who resist selling non-traditional services or products to your customers who see you as the supplier of these few products and ONLY these few products. Understanding where your customers fit into the innovation adoption curve will help you understand how to approach them in your sales efforts. Finding where your sales staff fits into this information will help you have greater understanding of why they like selling (or resist selling) certain products and services.
1. Innovators
2.5% of people fall into this category. They typically are venturesome, educated, enjoy being cutting edge, have a greater propensity to take risk. Innovators are constantly willing to invest the time and energy to learn to adapt to the new demands of the innovation.
Innovators ask questions such as: How can I use this new technology to gain a competitive advantage? How can I be the first person to make an impact with this new product idea? What changes do I need to make in my organization to bring this new idea to my customers as fast as possible?
Innovators tend to be boundless in their ideas and energy for trying new things. They typically feel not constraint from budgets, time, or current direction.
The innovators see this new idea in lighting and immediately jump to new possibilities in addition to the intended use. In fact, the Powermoon is now being used for search and rescue, event illumination and as an alternative advertising vehicle.
2. Early Adopters
13.5% of people fall into this category and they are typically opinion leaders, educated and popular. The early adopters are essential for new ideas to become profitable ideas, because these are the people who enjoy telling others about what they have discovered. They are always willing to try out new ideas, but a bit more carefully than the innovators.
Early Adopter business leaders keep a close eye on industry changes and are looking for ideas they can use to strengthen their businesses or product lines. Leaders in this category ask their sales team to do some exploration with customers to see how receptive they are to the new ideas being contemplated. Where the Innovator takes on the new ideas and then tries to get customers to use them, the early adopter will get the input from the customer first and then make the effort to use the innovation.
3. Early Majority
34% of the population fits this category as they are more deliberate and usually rely on social comment and information from friends than in discovery on their own. Early Majority people are of the "wait and see" variety. Leaders want to see how the competition is using the changes and what the impact is. If it's positive, then this group will start to explore using the innovations.
An organization lead by a person of this category will seldom get the best positioning for getting new products to customers, but they also see this as a less risky option and will not potentially have significant losses on innovation since it is now being generally accepted.
4. Late Majority
34% of the population are in this category and are typically skeptical, traditional and enjoy the stability of their situation (sometimes right or wrong.) The Late Majority are the last ones on the bus. By the time this group is ready to accept the innovation, it has become widely used and pretty much the new norm. They have lost all competitive advantage and in their opinion, hopefully lost all chance of risk by now getting into the game. Frequently, innovation has become a commodity by the time this group gets involved.
5. Laggards
16% of the population. Traditional people caring for the "old ways" are critical toward new ideas and will only accept innovation once it has become mainstream. Laggards are not interested in change and will accept the innovations only when they become the only option. They are more focused on the fear of what might happen be accepting the change than in the potential benefits.
Organizations with a Laggard in a leadership role will be struggling to remain competitive and customer orders will be in decline. In some cases, the leader may just want to ride out what he has until he can retire. The workforce under a leader of this category will be older and of like mind.
All Aboard
Let's say you love these new innovations you are finding and see great opportunity if only your customers were as into in
Spanish translator certification programs are becoming more and more prevalent as more and more people realize the importance that Spanish translation plays and will continue to play now and in the future. In order to take advantage of all the opportunities brought about by an increase in Spanish speakers, those with a solid grasp of English and Spanish are taking advantage and looking for ways to become translators.In order to better their prospects for getting business, translators often turn to Spanish translator certification programs to prove their abilities to future clients and employers. Spanish translator certification programs take many forms, but most are geared towards helping you pass various certification tests given by various translation organizations.The translation industry, at least in the United States, is not governed as tightly as other industries, such as law, medicine, or accounting, and so a lot of confusion has arisen over time about what it really means to be certified as a translator. For other industries like the ones I just mentioned, there are national standardized tests t
As Everett Rogers outlined with his bell curve of innovation adoption there are five categories of adoption. As a business leader you set the tone of where you want your company to be in the innovation curve. If you are a traditionalist and resist the new ideas your staff will mirror that approach or become frustrated with such resistance to change and may move on. If you are at the front end of innovation adoption, you set the tone, you are a cutting edge organization and will attract employees who desire to work under those conditions and thereby will work best with customers who want to own the latest and greatest.
Resistance to change is within all of us to some degree. It can come from your sales staff who resist selling non-traditional services or products to your customers who see you as the supplier of these few products and ONLY these few products. Understanding where your customers fit into the innovation adoption curve will help you understand how to approach them in your sales efforts. Finding where your sales staff fits into this information will help you have greater understanding of why they like selling (or resist selling) certain products and services.
1. Innovators
2.5% of people fall into this category. They typically are venturesome, educated, enjoy being cutting edge, have a greater propensity to take risk. Innovators are constantly willing to invest the time and energy to learn to adapt to the new demands of the innovation.
Innovators ask questions such as: How can I use this new technology to gain a competitive advantage? How can I be the first person to make an impact with this new product idea? What changes do I need to make in my organization to bring this new idea to my customers as fast as possible?
Innovators tend to be boundless in their ideas and energy for trying new things. They typically feel not constraint from budgets, time, or current direction.
The innovators see this new idea in lighting and immediately jump to new possibilities in addition to the intended use. In fact, the Powermoon is now being used for search and rescue, event illumination and as an alternative advertising vehicle.
2. Early Adopters
13.5% of people fall into this category and they are typically opinion leaders, educated and popular. The early adopters are essential for new ideas to become profitable ideas, because these are the people who enjoy telling others about what they have discovered. They are always willing to try out new ideas, but a bit more carefully than the innovators.
Early Adopter business leaders keep a close eye on industry changes and are looking for ideas they can use to strengthen their businesses or product lines. Leaders in this category ask their sales team to do some exploration with customers to see how receptive they are to the new ideas being contemplated. Where the Innovator takes on the new ideas and then tries to get customers to use them, the early adopter will get the input from the customer first and then make the effort to use the innovation.
3. Early Majority
34% of the population fits this category as they are more deliberate and usually rely on social comment and information from friends than in discovery on their own. Early Majority people are of the "wait and see" variety. Leaders want to see how the competition is using the changes and what the impact is. If it's positive, then this group will start to explore using the innovations.
An organization lead by a person of this category will seldom get the best positioning for getting new products to customers, but they also see this as a less risky option and will not potentially have significant losses on innovation since it is now being generally accepted.
4. Late Majority
34% of the population are in this category and are typically skeptical, traditional and enjoy the stability of their situation (sometimes right or wrong.) The Late Majority are the last ones on the bus. By the time this group is ready to accept the innovation, it has become widely used and pretty much the new norm. They have lost all competitive advantage and in their opinion, hopefully lost all chance of risk by now getting into the game. Frequently, innovation has become a commodity by the time this group gets involved.
5. Laggards
16% of the population. Traditional people caring for the "old ways" are critical toward new ideas and will only accept innovation once it has become mainstream. Laggards are not interested in change and will accept the innovations only when they become the only option. They are more focused on the fear of what might happen be accepting the change than in the potential benefits.
Organizations with a Laggard in a leadership role will be struggling to remain competitive and customer orders will be in decline. In some cases, the leader may just want to ride out what he has until he can retire. The workforce under a leader of this category will be older and of like mind.
All Aboard
Let's say you love these new innovations you are finding and see great opportunity if only your customers were as into i
There are many unfortunate circumstances that can befall your company’s information technology systems. From hardware failures to property theft, there are many pitfalls that await your technology investment, but what is the most precious asset your company has in its portfolio?The answer is DATA.No matter what happens to your company’s hardware investment it can always be replaced. Regardless of theft, damage, or complete destruction of hard drives, motherboards, or entire computers, you can always “buy a new one”, but what about your data? What safeguards can you put in place for your critical data and intellectual property? The solution is offsite/online secure data backup.By securing and backing up your data using an online backup system today you can potentially save yourself hundreds or thousands of hours of productivity and man-hours that have been spent generating your most critical data.Regardless of whether you are an individual, a small company, or a huge corporation there are online secure data backup solutions out there that are perfectly tailored to your individual needs.
1. Innovators
2.5% of people fall into this category. They typically are venturesome, educated, enjoy being cutting edge, have a greater propensity to take risk. Innovators are constantly willing to invest the time and energy to learn to adapt to the new demands of the innovation.
Innovators ask questions such as: How can I use this new technology to gain a competitive advantage? How can I be the first person to make an impact with this new product idea? What changes do I need to make in my organization to bring this new idea to my customers as fast as possible?
Innovators tend to be boundless in their ideas and energy for trying new things. They typically feel not constraint from budgets, time, or current direction.
The innovators see this new idea in lighting and immediately jump to new possibilities in addition to the intended use. In fact, the Powermoon is now being used for search and rescue, event illumination and as an alternative advertising vehicle.
2. Early Adopters
13.5% of people fall into this category and they are typically opinion leaders, educated and popular. The early adopters are essential for new ideas to become profitable ideas, because these are the people who enjoy telling others about what they have discovered. They are always willing to try out new ideas, but a bit more carefully than the innovators.
Early Adopter business leaders keep a close eye on industry changes and are looking for ideas they can use to strengthen their businesses or product lines. Leaders in this category ask their sales team to do some exploration with customers to see how receptive they are to the new ideas being contemplated. Where the Innovator takes on the new ideas and then tries to get customers to use them, the early adopter will get the input from the customer first and then make the effort to use the innovation.
3. Early Majority
34% of the population fits this category as they are more deliberate and usually rely on social comment and information from friends than in discovery on their own. Early Majority people are of the "wait and see" variety. Leaders want to see how the competition is using the changes and what the impact is. If it's positive, then this group will start to explore using the innovations.
An organization lead by a person of this category will seldom get the best positioning for getting new products to customers, but they also see this as a less risky option and will not potentially have significant losses on innovation since it is now being generally accepted.
4. Late Majority
34% of the population are in this category and are typically skeptical, traditional and enjoy the stability of their situation (sometimes right or wrong.) The Late Majority are the last ones on the bus. By the time this group is ready to accept the innovation, it has become widely used and pretty much the new norm. They have lost all competitive advantage and in their opinion, hopefully lost all chance of risk by now getting into the game. Frequently, innovation has become a commodity by the time this group gets involved.
5. Laggards
16% of the population. Traditional people caring for the "old ways" are critical toward new ideas and will only accept innovation once it has become mainstream. Laggards are not interested in change and will accept the innovations only when they become the only option. They are more focused on the fear of what might happen be accepting the change than in the potential benefits.
Organizations with a Laggard in a leadership role will be struggling to remain competitive and customer orders will be in decline. In some cases, the leader may just want to ride out what he has until he can retire. The workforce under a leader of this category will be older and of like mind.
All Aboard
Let's say you love these new innovations you are finding and see great opportunity if only your customers were as into i
Precision metal component manufacturing provides us with numerous products, yet many of us have no idea what “precision metal component manufacturing” actually means. The goals of this article are to particularize the process, explain the various methods of component manufacturing and provide examples of products created using precision metal component manufacturing.The general term “precision metal component manufacturing” can refer to numerous methods of production. Some of the methods include laser cutting, press brakes, spot welding, precision grinding, sheet metal fabrication, shearing, straightening and more. However, the most common methods of production are the precision metal stampings, CNC (computer numerical control) fabrications and assembling of the finished products.One of the most widely known methods of manufacturing is the precision metal stamping. This process involves engraving lettering, three-dimensional parts and other surface definitions onto metal surfaces. The stamping works by using extreme pressure to force various forms and dies onto the metal materials. When the stamp i
Early Adopter business leaders keep a close eye on industry changes and are looking for ideas they can use to strengthen their businesses or product lines. Leaders in this category ask their sales team to do some exploration with customers to see how receptive they are to the new ideas being contemplated. Where the Innovator takes on the new ideas and then tries to get customers to use them, the early adopter will get the input from the customer first and then make the effort to use the innovation.
3. Early Majority
34% of the population fits this category as they are more deliberate and usually rely on social comment and information from friends than in discovery on their own. Early Majority people are of the "wait and see" variety. Leaders want to see how the competition is using the changes and what the impact is. If it's positive, then this group will start to explore using the innovations.
An organization lead by a person of this category will seldom get the best positioning for getting new products to customers, but they also see this as a less risky option and will not potentially have significant losses on innovation since it is now being generally accepted.
4. Late Majority
34% of the population are in this category and are typically skeptical, traditional and enjoy the stability of their situation (sometimes right or wrong.) The Late Majority are the last ones on the bus. By the time this group is ready to accept the innovation, it has become widely used and pretty much the new norm. They have lost all competitive advantage and in their opinion, hopefully lost all chance of risk by now getting into the game. Frequently, innovation has become a commodity by the time this group gets involved.
5. Laggards
16% of the population. Traditional people caring for the "old ways" are critical toward new ideas and will only accept innovation once it has become mainstream. Laggards are not interested in change and will accept the innovations only when they become the only option. They are more focused on the fear of what might happen be accepting the change than in the potential benefits.
Organizations with a Laggard in a leadership role will be struggling to remain competitive and customer orders will be in decline. In some cases, the leader may just want to ride out what he has until he can retire. The workforce under a leader of this category will be older and of like mind.
All Aboard
Let's say you love these new innovations you are finding and see great opportunity if only your customers were as into i
The potential for success lies within you. Granted you must be brave, committed and flexible; you also must remain clearly focused on your goal. Whether that goal is to build a small customer base or you intend to capture a large market share, your commitment to excellence in relation to your customers and your product or service can be the key ingredient to your success.Remaining compassionate while staying on track can be a bit of a trick. While at times a valued customer may have special needs and you might want to go that extra mile for them, you must clearly distinguish when and where to draw the line. Yes, be flexible but don't get taken advantage of. Give them anything you can while remaining true to yourself.If a customer needs to be a little late for an appointment or requires an extension on the pay-by date and you can accommodate them do so with stipulation. Help them to recognize there is a limit to your understanding and generosity. Don't just blindly let them slide into a bad habit.Sometimes the hardest thing to do is “fire” a customer or client. You may consider that impertinent,
5. Laggards
16% of the population. Traditional people caring for the "old ways" are critical toward new ideas and will only accept innovation once it has become mainstream. Laggards are not interested in change and will accept the innovations only when they become the only option. They are more focused on the fear of what might happen be accepting the change than in the potential benefits.
Organizations with a Laggard in a leadership role will be struggling to remain competitive and customer orders will be in decline. In some cases, the leader may just want to ride out what he has until he can retire. The workforce under a leader of this category will be older and of like mind.
All Aboard
Let's say you love these new innovations you are finding and see great opportunity if only your customers were as into innovation as you are. How can you spread these innovational ideas and products to your customers?
Knowledge
The more information you can use to encourage learning about the existence and function of the innovation the better informed your customers will be. Resistance is most often the fear of the unknown. The better you can develop a knowledge base for your customers the more understand they have of the product and the benefits the will enjoy. Sales today is as much about good information as closing techniques (or more so.) The better informed your sales staff is about products and serves the easier they will be able top over come the initial rejection of something new.
Persuasion
Once upon a time sales were all about slick persuasive tactics that gave the profession a bad rap. The fact is persuasion is still one of the most effective selling tools but through a different approach. Becoming convinced of the value of the innovation is key for the customer to accept that this proposed change is advantageous. Understanding the customer's resistance to innovation is critical. If the customer is a Laggard, no amount of persuasion will bring this customer home if the idea is still very new. By the same token, if you are dealing with am Early Adopter, good information and a clear understanding of benefits may well be enough to get the customer on board.
Implementation
Sometimes nothing sells like a free trial. Innovations often need to be seen or felt before the idea becomes real to the customer. For example, you can have all the specs on why the Powermoon is a better option, why it can be cheaper to operate, why it makes perfect sense, but because the concept may be considered so radical, it has to be experienced to be real.
Innovation is the key to growth in any industry. Be sure you are leading the charge for your organization to be on the cutting edge, teaching your sales staff to be knowledgeable of all new products and educate your customers on what really is a significant change in innovation, not just what is the new model. When you help your customers save money, have better performance, and show then a better way, they will think you hung the moon.
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